ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biomechanics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1568003
This article is part of the Research TopicBiomechanics, Sensing and Bio-inspired Control in Rehabilitation and Assistive Robotics, Volume IIView all 12 articles
Effectiveness of Isometric Muscle Training Combined with Manual Lymphatic Drainage on Secondary Lower Extremity Lymphedema Following Gynecologic Cancer Surgery
Provisionally accepted
Jiahui Ma1
Hewei Wang2
Yilan Li1Xiang Guo1Mengjia Xie1
Xinxin Wang1
Luxi Mao1Dapeng Xing1
Li Shen2
Dan Chen3
Jing-Xin Wang1*- 1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China., Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
- 2Department of Rehabilitation, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200040, China, Shanghai, China
- 3Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Jing’an District Central Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai,200040,China, Shanghai, China
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Objective: To investigate the effects of isokinetic strength training combined with manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) on leg circumference, walking ability and muscle strength in patients with secondary lymphedema following gynecologic cancer surgery.Design: Randomized controlled trial.Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation department.Participants: Sixty-six patients with secondary lymphedema of the lower extremities following gynecologic cancer surgery were randomly allocated into an experimental group and a control group, each comprising 33 patients.The control group participated in a 4-week standardized MLD program.In addition to the MLD program, participants in the experimental group received additional isokinetic strength training for 20 minutes daily over the same 4-week period.Outcomes: Lower limb volume derived from the circumference measurements, Holden Gait Scale and Lovett muscle strength grading.Results: Prior to the intervention, no statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups across all outcomes (P > 0.05). Post-intervention, statistically significant improvements were noted in the experimental group compared to the control group with respect to reduced lower extremity volume, improved walking ability, and increased muscle strength (P < 0.05).For patients with secondary lower limb lymphedema following gynecological tumor surgery, a combination of isokinetic strength training and MLD has been found to be more effective than MLD alone in reducing edema, improving walking ability, and enhancing muscle strength.
Keywords: Secondary lymphedema, gynecologic cancer, Lower Extremity, Isokinetic strength training, Manual lymphatic drainage
Received: 28 Jan 2025; Accepted: 23 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ma, Wang, Li, Guo, Xie, Wang, Mao, Xing, Shen, Chen and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jing-Xin Wang, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China., Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
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